--- title: "Neuralink Cofounder Says New Company’s Eye Implant Could Be “Ultimate” VR Tech" description: "After leaving Neuralink in 2021, Max Hodak is back with a brain-computer interface startup of his own — and his plans are pretty next-level." date: "2023-01-03" modified: "2023-01-03" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/max-hodak-ultimate-vr-tech" categories: - "Future Society" - "Virtual Reality" tags: - "brain computer interface" - "max hodak" - "neuralink" - "the digest" --- # Neuralink Cofounder Says New Company’s Eye Implant Could Be “Ultimate” VR Tech ![After leaving Neuralink in 2021, Max Hodak is back with a brain-computer interface startup of his own — and his plans are pretty next-level.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Science Corporeal After leaving Elon Musk's Neuralink [in 2021](), Max Hodak is back with a new brain-computer interface startup, and it's working on a next-generation prosthetic eye that he hopes will both provide a new treatment for blindness and eventually pave the way for the future of virtual and augmented reality. In a recent [interview with *Futurism*](), Hodak told us about his company Science Corp's "Science Eye," which combines gene therapy with a microLED display over the retina to restore vision. As the neuroscience entrepreneur notes, the Science Eyes have already been implanted in [some bunnies](), which he says are "doing well." Human trials are still a ways off — "eighteen months, hopefully!" — but he thinks a variation on the tech using "different underlying technology, not the microLED film" could lead to immersive virtual experience that leave today's clunky headsets in the dust. "We think we see a way to create what ends up as the ultimate AR/VR display technology without meaningful surgery," Hodak told *Futurism*. ## Different Strokes Science Corp, Hodak emphasized, is "extremely different" from Neuralink — though as [*Bloomberg* reported]() a few months back, the startup is now the second-highest-funded brain-computer interface company out there with $160 million in capital, trailing only Neuralink itself. And in spite of the flashy VR concept, overall Hodak has expressed a very cautious vision for the company's trajectory. "The technical approach we're developing is extremely different from what Neuralink was doing," he told us. "Ultimately, though, our vision goes well beyond just clinical visual prostheses. But we want to let ambition grow with success rather than making big statements about things we may or may not do in the future at this point." For now, Science Corp is "focused on getting our first product into patients" — and once it does, we're excited to see where the startup goes next. **More on BCIs:** [*Scientists Say They've Figured Out a Way to Read Thoughts Using an MRI Machine*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()